Finding Home
by zabeth0322
Summary: Iruka realized that all this time, he had been trying to find homes for Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. He never even once considered that maybe they already had a home. AU Oneshot. Has slight humor.


_Disclaimer__: I do not own Naruto. But you already knew that._

_Notes__: This is written in limited third-person. It's almost Iruka's point of view. That means that it is only what Iruka sees or hears. It is also AU and has minor references to child abuse. / This is just something I thought of that I just had to write. I'm normally not this dark when I'm writing but it was there and it's a good idea to me. Review please!  
_

_Characters: Iruka, Team 7, Itachi, Kakashi._

_Genre: Angst/Drama, with slight Humor._

_Author: zabeth0322_

**Finding Home**

Iruka watched over the orphanage and all the children that entered and exited its doors. He tried not to show favoritism to any one child, but it was bound to happen. However, his preference was not situated with one unfortunate child, but three.

The first was a small blonde boy that had been at the orphanage since he was an infant. Left cold and alone on the doorstep, Iruka took him in and watched him grow. The boy's shining eyes and wide grin seemed to make him a perfect candidate for those looking to adopt. The world, though, was superficial. Many possible parents looked past his personality, seeing only the six scars on his face. Constant rejection forced the boy to resort to pranks for attention. He became the resident troublemaker.

The second was a little brunette girl Iruka found on his way home from grocery shopping. She was bruised, battered, and crying. He asked where her parents were and she immediately tensed and curled into a tight ball. It pained him, so he picked up the child in one arm, trying his best to ignore the way she flinched at physical contact and took her to the orphanage. Three days later an ad showed up in the paper looking for the little girl. After inquiries about the parents, he decided to disregard the missing announcement. The next day, he found out that her hair had been dyed and was actually an unnatural pink.

The third was another boy, though much stranger than the first two. He had come to the orphanage of his own accord, claiming that he had no family left. Among the child's possessions was a small lighter with a symbol of a fan on it. Iruka looked it up and found that it was the symbol of the family that had been massacred just days ago by a member of their own. The boy was mentally scarred and refused to be taken into another family. Many times, he went to extremes to scare the prospective parents. On several occasions, Iruka had to call the fire department and the first-aid squad because the black-haired boy had set fire to the woman's skirt or the man's tie.

And through all the chaos, the three had somehow managed to find one another. It seemed an odd match to Iruka.

A hyperactive master of mischief named Naruto. (Iruka had named him because the child would not stop drawing the food and asking for it, second only to his requests for Ramen.)

A quiet book type that abhorred physical contact named Sakura. (Iruka had changed her name for the color of her hair and because she flinched at her old name.)

And a stoic pyromaniac named Sasuke. (He was the only one who had kept his original name.)

At age ten, the three were inseparable. Should a family come to claim one of them, the other two would scare them away. This did not include Sakura, however. Still traumatized by what happened to her early in life, she refused to be touched or talked to by anyone other than Iruka, Naruto, Sasuke and Shizune, the nurse that worked at the orphanage. There was only one time that Iruka could recall when Sakura had stood up for herself and for her friends.

That day had been dark and stormy, practically screaming that horrific things were to happen. A young man had come to the orphanage, claiming to be Sasuke's guardian. Iruka had been scared out of his wits by the man's emotionless red eyes.

_Iruka fumbled and led him to the room where the trio was normally found. They were there, as per usual, alone. Sasuke was the first to look up, like usual, but instead of a sarcastic remark about Iruka's possible client, he clammed up and choked. His onyx eyes remained glued to the man and he began visibly shaking._

"_Itachi…niisan…" he half mumbled, half squeaked. Naruto instinctively jumped in front of the other boy, as though trying to protect him from something. The man now known as Itachi scoffed and the little boy in orange. He reached down around Naruto for Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke let out a strangled gasp. Just before the hand grabbed him, a blur of red and pink appeared, also guarding Sasuke._

_Itachi growled and picked Sakura up by her shirt, his eyes flashing dangerously. Sakura looked petrified, tears glazing bright emerald eyes. Yet, suddenly, her innocent, terrified orbs gained a hard glint. She narrowed them as Itachi brought her to eye level. The next action was inconceivable to Iruka. _

**SLAP!**

"_Leave Sasu-kun alone." A small red mark began to form on Itachi's face. The next minute, he was gone. Sakura standing triumphant in front of Sasuke and Naruto._

"_Saku-chan's amazing!" Naruto cried, dancing in a small circle around the now giggling girl. Iruka had never heard her laugh before._

"_Arigato, Saku-chan." Iruka had never heard Sasuke thank anyone before._

"_Your welcome-" the girl and her dark-haired companion were suddenly dragged towards the kitchen by an excited blonde. "Naru-kun! Slow down!"_

"_That little adventure sure made me hungry!" _

_Later, Iruka asked Sakura why she smacked the man. She had replied simply, "I-- WE don't want to cry anymore."_

Iruka just shook his head. Some things never changed. He looked up and saw the trio, now twelve (except for Sasuke who had just turned thirteen), chasing each other around the small courtyard of the orphanage. He noticed there was something different about them today. Each was wearing a strip of cloth in addition to the usual attire of hand-me-down clothes. Naruto had a red and blue cloth tied around his forehead, holding back unruly blonde bangs. Sakura had an orange and blue cloth tied around her head like a headband; Iruka noticed that it somehow did not seem to clash with her hair as most pinks and oranges do. Sasuke was sporting a very un-Sasuke-like orange and red cloth tied around his upper right arm.

While pondering about the newest fashion statement of the trio, he heard the front desk's bell ring. A customer was here. At the desk, he was met with a silver haired man with a mask covering the lower portion of his face. The man greeted him and Iruka politely asked what type of child he was looking for.

"Well… I need someone that is good with dogs and does not mind being alone for a little bit. My job sometimes takes me away from home, you see. Someone that could cook would be nice as well…" He trailed off with a thoughtful expression on his masked face (or so Iruka thought).

"There are a few here who match that description, but…" Iruka's mind traveled to the trio, Sakura matching the bill with the exception of being alone. A thought that maybe the man was also looking for the wrong type of family member also occurred to Iruka. The customer sounded as if he wanted a wife, not a child.

"I don't like dealing with women." It was as if the tall man had read his thoughts! Iruka sweat dropped and led the tall man outside. The tall man's attention was immediately captured by Sakura's bright hair. His head tilted to the side, curious.

"Ah, Hatake-dono! That's not a very good…" His words fell short as the trio caught the man staring and ran over.

"Ano… Iruka-san, who's this?"

"Oi! Oji-san! Stop looking at Saku-chan like that!"

"Hn…"

The (poor) customer was bombarded with questions and curses from the trio; Sakura asking, Naruto cursing, and Sasuke looking on with mild curiosity. The newcomer only smiled, eyes crinkling.

"Iruka-san?"

"H-hai, Hatake-dono?"

"I think I know which child I'd like to adopt."

"Nani? Who?"

"All three." All commotion suddenly stopped. No questions. No insults. No 'Hn's. Iruka was shell-shocked. He never believed that anyone would adopt these three. At least not all _together_ anyway. He walked back inside to get the paperwork, muscles operating solely on memory.

When he came back outside, the trio was sitting down in a semi-circle talking quietly with their new parent. Their new _parent_. A tear dropped from Iruka's eye as he witnessed his little ones finally grow up. They finally were leaving. They told him later they only agreed to it because they were all going, together.

The day they left, Iruka truly smiled. He realized that all this time, he had been trying to find homes for Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. He never even once considered that maybe they already had a home.

Home was not a place.

It was a frame of mind, a sense of security, a friend that cared.

Because who needed to find a home when you already had one?


End file.
